Figurine lamp with illuminating dress

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an apparatus and a method to structurally support and selectively illuminate a new and unique lamp for emitting light. The apparatus includes a frame, a figurine, and a light source to emit an artistically pleasing light and display a figurine as its exterior design. The apparatus also comprises of means for selectively turning the light source on and off. The method secures the figurine in to the frame, which in turn is covered, at least in part, by fabric. The fabric may comprise material and patterns that allow partial light reflection to cast various patterns and shades of light through the fabric. The method further couples a light socket to the frame, including means to selectively turn the light source on and off. The method may include coupling at least one hook to the frame for suspending the frame. The method may also include coupling a backdrop member to the frame for prominently displaying the facial features of the figurine and help with stabilizing the apparatus when the frame is suspended.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/498,897 filed Aug. 29, 2003; where this provisionalapplication is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to lamps and, more specifically, todecorative figurine lamps.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

There are numerous lamps and lampshades on the market. Some are designedto emit a direct, bright light, others a soft light and, yet, others anartistically pleasing light. Further, in addition to the light theyemit, most lamps are also designed to have an interesting and/orartistically pleasing exterior design. Despite the various types oflamps available in today's marketplace, consumers continuously demandnew and unique designs for emitting light.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an apparatus and method to structurallysupport and selectively illuminate a new and unique lamp for emittinglight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a scanned photograph of an actual figurinelamp with illuminating dress according to one embodiment of the presentinvention, depicting a princess look and an optional backdrop memberwith a heart design.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a scanned photograph of an actual figurinelamp with illuminating dress according to one embodiment of the presentinvention, depicting a bridal look and an optional backdrop member witha covered diamond-like shape.

FIG. 3 is a side isometric view of the scanned photograph of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a scanned photograph of an actual figurinelamp with illuminating dress according to one embodiment of the presentinvention, depicting an African queen look and an optional backdropmember with an open arch.

FIG. 5 is a close up view of the upper bodice portion of the figurinelamp of FIG. 4, depicting embroidered designs on an otherwise sheerfabric.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a figurine lamp according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, with the lower skirt portion not present.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the figurine lamp of FIG. 6 withthe lower skirt portion, the figurine, and the upper bodice portion notpresent.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the figurine lamp of FIG. 6, depicting anoptional backdrop member with a heart design.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a figurine lamp according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, depicting an optional backdrop member with anopen arch design.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a figurine lamp according to one embodimentof the present invention, with the optional backdrop member and hookseliminated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present detailed description is directed toward embodiments of afigurine lamp 10 with an illuminating dress. Scanned photographs ofactual embodiments are shown in FIGS. 1-5. As can be seen from thesephotographs, the lamp 10 incorporates a figurine 11, and a dress 13having an upper bodice portion 13 a and a lower skirt portion 13 b. Thefigurine 11 can be comprised of a torso from any doll, character orfigurine. To prominently display the facial features of the figurine 11,an optional backdrop member 12 can be positioned behind the figurine ofthe lamp 10. As FIGS. 1-5 show, the backdrop member 12 can be configuredto have any number of interesting design shapes, such as a heart, anopen arch, or a covered diamond-like shape. As is to be understood byone of ordinary skill in the art, the specific shape of the backdropmember 12 is a design choice, and any number of shapes can be used. Inaddition to being aesthetically pleasing, when a backdrop member 12 isused, it provides certain advantages when the lamp 10 is in a suspendedposition. These advantages are described further below.

The lower skirt portion 13 b can be comprised of fabric 14 having lightreflective properties, such as crepe-backed satin, or fabrics that aremore opaque in nature, such as heavy polyester or velvet. A light source16 can be positioned behind the fabric 14 of the lower skirt portion 13b to enable the figurine lamp 10 to emit a soft light and, when thelight source 16 is selectively turned on, the light source 16 can castvarious patterns and shades of light through the lower skirt portion 13b of the lamp 10. The various light patterns can be caused by patternsin or on the fabric 14. For example, the close-up view provided in FIG.5 shows that embroidered designs on an otherwise sheer fabric 14 blockthe light while the more sheer portions of the fabric allow the light toemit through the fabric 14, producing a soothing visual interplaybetween shades of light and darkness.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the figurine lamp 10 with the lower skirtportion 13 b removed to provide a better view of the frame 18. The frame18 is a structural element that holds the figurine 11 and upper bodiceportion 13 a of the figurine lamp 10 and the light source 16 in place,and safely keeps the lower skirt portion 13 b from contacting the lightsource 16. The frame 18 can be comprised of a planar portion 20 and anoutwardly projecting portion 22.

FIG. 7 shows a front perspective view of the figurine lamp 10 shown inFIG. 6, with both the lower skirt portion 13 b and the figurine 11 andupper bodice portion 13 a removed. The planar portion 20 of the frame 18can have a platform section 24 adapted to captively receive and retainthe figurine 11, and the outwardly projecting portion 22 can have anumber of curved members 26 that form a dress-shaped lampshade structure28.

A light socket 30, configured to operatively receive the light source16, can be positioned between the planar portion 20 and the outwardlyprojecting portion 22 of the frame 18 and can have a switch 34 forselectively turning the light source 16 on and off. The switch 34 can beactivated with either a simple pull chain or any number of commerciallyavailable switching devices. The light source 16 can consist of anyclear or colored light bulb. Because the light source 16, in finalassembly, can be positioned close to fabric 14, a low-wattage light bulbmay be used. If desired, fabric 14 can be positioned to span across abottom portion 31 of the lamp 10 to help soften the glare that wouldoccur if one were to look directly up into the bottom of the lower skirtportion 13 b of the lamp 10.

If desired, one or more hooks 32 can be coupled to the frame 18 and usedto mount the figurine lamp 10 onto a cross member for display. Theoptional backdrop member 12 can be coupled to the planar portion of theframe 18. When the frame 18 is suspended by the hooks 32, the backdropmember 12 can be used to further straighten or maintain the position ofthe mounted figurine lamp 10 by positioning the backdrop member 12against a flat surface, such as a wall. A further advantage provided bythe backdrop member 12 is that it can hide the hooks 32 when thefigurine lamp 10 is viewed from the front.

The frame 18, hooks 32 and backdrop member 12 can be made of any number,or combination, of materials, such as wire or molded plastic. In theillustrated embodiment, the frame 18 is made of wire, and the hooks 32are made of brass. If wire is used, the frame can be dipped in plastic,silicone or other equivalent material to prepare the surface of the wireso that the fabric 14 will more easily adhere to the wire.Alternatively, craft tape, such as commercially available bias tape,twill tape, or suitable substitutes can also be used to wrap the wireand thereby prepare the surface of the wire.

During assembly, the fabric 14, which can consist of one or moredifferent types of material, can be positioned over various sections ofthe frame 18 to form the lower skirt portion 13 b of the figurine lamp10. The fabric 14 can be pulled tight over some or all of the outwardlyprojecting sections 22, or positioned over the frame 18 in a free formedmanner to achieve a number of different artistic looks. Once a desiredlook is achieved, the fabric 14 can be secured in place with glue,thread, or other equivalent means.

The upper bodice portion 13 a of the figurine lamp 10 can also besecured in place in a number of ways. For example, in one embodiment,the platform section 24 of the frame 18 has a threaded opening and theupper bodice portion 13 a is screwed into the opening. In anotherembodiment, the upper bodice portion 13 a is form-fitted into an openingand glued or fastened in place. In yet another embodiment, the platformsection 24 has a flat surface and the upper bodice portion 13 a is gluedto a top surface of the platform 24.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the manner in which a designer decorates theupper bodice portion 13 a, the lower skirt portion 13 b and the backdrop member 12 greatly changes the look of the final product. Forexample, FIG. 1 depicts a princess look, FIG. 2 a bridal look, and FIG.5 an African queen look. As shown from these examples, the figurine lamp10 can be decorated with beads, faux fur, feathers, pearls and a numberof other accent items, such as earrings, gloves, veils, hats, etc.

In another embodiment, FIG. 10 shows a figurine lamp 110 similar tothose shown and described in connection with FIGS. 1-9; however, theoptional backdrop member 12 and hooks 32 have been eliminated. In thisillustrated, alternative embodiment, the reference numerals have beenincremented by a value of one hundred for components or features thatare identical or substantially similar to the same components orfeatures discussed above. Only significant differences in the operationand structure are described. This figure shows that embodiments of thefigurine lamp 110 of the present invention can also be used anddisplayed on a flat surface. Because displaying the lamp 110 on a flatsurface allows it to be viewed from 360°, if desired, the plurality ofcurved members 126 forming the outwardly projecting portion of the frame118 can be spaced to span about the lamp 110 in a full circle, and thelamp 110 can be decorated with fabric 114 on all sides. While morematerial may be required to produce a full circle design, this offersyet another aesthetically pleasing design option.

All of the above U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications,U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applicationsand non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/orlisted in the Application Data Sheet, are incorporated herein byreference, in their entirety.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.

1. An apparatus for holding a decorative figurine and a light source,the apparatus comprising: a frame having a substantially planar portionand an outwardly projecting portion, the frame being adapted tocaptively receive the decorative figurine, and the outwardly projectingportion having a plurality of curved members configured to form adress-shaped lampshade structure; a hook coupled to the frame forsuspending the frame from a separate structure; a light socketpositioned between the outwardly projecting portion of the frame and theplanar portion of the frame, configured to operatively receive a lightsource and having means for selectively turning the light source on andoff; and fabric positioned over at least the outwardly projectingportion of the frame, and wherein at least a portion of the fabric iscapable of allowing light from the light source to pass through thefabric.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the substantiallyplanar portion of the frame is configured to be positionable contiguousto an adjacent structure.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a backdrop member coupled to the frame, the backdrop memberhaving a back surface and the back surface being positionable against aflat surface to help stabilize the frame when the frame is suspended bythe hook.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: amaterial positioned across a bottom portion of the apparatus to softenany glare emitted from the light source.
 5. The apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein the frame is made from molded plastic.
 6. The apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein the frame is made from wire.
 7. Theapparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: means for preparingthe surface of the frame, whereby the fabric adheres more easily to theframe.
 8. A method for manufacturing a figurine lamp with anilluminating dress, the method comprising: securing a figurine to aframe having a planar portion and an outwardly projecting portion;securing a fabric with light reflective qualities to the outwardlyprojecting portion of the frame; coupling a hook to the frame forsuspending the frame from a separate structure; and coupling a lightsocket between the planar portion of the frame and the outwardlyprojecting portion of the frame.
 9. The method according to claim 8,further comprising: securing a plurality of curved members to theoutwardly projecting portion of the frame to form a dress-shapedlampshade structure.
 10. The method according to claim 8, furthercomprising: coupling a backdrop member to the frame, the backdrop memberhaving a back surface and the back surface being positionable against aflat surface to help stabilize the frame when the frame is suspended bythe hook.
 11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:making the frame from molded plastic.
 12. The method according to claim8, further comprising: making the frame from wire.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, further comprising: affixing surface preparationmeans to the frame whereby the fabric adheres more easily to the frame.14. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: securing amaterial across a bottom portion of the apparatus to soften any glareemitted from the light source.